THE 


OF  THE 

CANAL  COMMISSIONERS 

OF  THE 

STATE  OF  NEW-YORK, 

Presented  to  the  Legislature,  the  24th  February,  1 823. 


ALBANY : 
PRINTED  BY  CAN  TINE  &  LEAKE. 

PRINTERS  TO  THE  STATE. 

1823. 


i£x  HtbrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


report,  &c. 


To  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New-  York,  in  conform- 
ity with  the  act,  entitled  "  an  act  respecting  navigable 
communications  between  the  great  western  and  northern 
Lakes, and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  " passed  dpril  1 5th,  1817 , 
the  Canal  Commissioners  most  respectfully  report  : 

That  the  success  of  their  labours  during  the  last 
season,  has  been  as  great  as  could  reasonably  have 
been  expected.  Boats  have  actually  passed,  upon  the 
Erie  canal,  for  the  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred 
and  twenty  miles.  A  part  of  this  great  length  of  canal 
line,  not  having  been  prepared  to  admit  the  water 
until  late  in  the  fall,  has  not  produced  any  revenue 
from  tolls.  And  as  it  has  suffered  in  several  places, 
the  usual  effects  ofsoakage  in  earth  of  a  very  porous 
description,  and  of  the  presure  of  a  considerable 
head  of  water  upon  newly  constructed  banks,  it  is 
not  anticipated  that  it  will  be  in  a  condition  for  pro- 
fitable use,  until  after  the  lapse  of  several  weeks  in  the 
spring.  It  is  probable  that  in  the  month  of  April, 
tolls  will  begin  to  be  received,  on  two  hundred  miles 
of  this  canal,  and  that,  before  the  end  of  June,  the 
whole  line,  from  Rochester  to  Schenectady,  will 
be  navigable. 

The  place  of  connection,  between  the  canal  and 
Lake  Erie,  has  always  been  regarded  as  of  much 
public  importance.  Repeated  acts  of  the  legislature 
have  been  passed  relating  to  it.    In  April  last,  a  law 


(       4  ) 


i\  as  passed,  entitled  "  an  act  to  authorise  and  en- 
courage the  construction  of  harbours  at  Buffalo 
creek  and  Black  Rock  ;"  and  the  agency  required 
of  the  Canal  Commissioners,  under  this  law,  as  well 
as  by  previous  statutes,  occasioned  a  meeting  of 
their  board, to  be  held  at  Buffalo,  early  in  June  last. 
At  that  meeting,  it  was  determined,  that  Peter  B. 
Porter,  and  his  associates,  be  advised,  that  if  they 
succeed,  in  a  fair  experiment,  by  constructing  ten 
or  more  rods  of  the  pier,  on  the  plan  submitted 
by  them,  at  some  point  nearly  central  between 
Brace's  store-house  and  the  second  angle  east  from 
Bird  Island,  by  the  first  day  of  May  or  June  next,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Canal  Commissioners,  that  they 
will  then  contract  with  them  for  making  a  basin  or 
harbour,  according  to  their  proposition ;  or  recom- 
mend to  the  legislature,  to  pass  a  law  refunding  the 
costs  of  such  experiment  ;  and  that  the  acting  Canal 
Commissioner,  on  the  western  part  of  the  Erie  canal, 
be  advised  to  put  under  contract,  the  canal  line  from 
Little  Buffalo  creek,  to  some  point  nearly  opposite 
to  Bird  Island,  this  season. 

This  determination  wras  made  in  consequence  of 
the  existence  of  some  doubts,  in  the  minds  of  the 
Commissioners,  as  to  the  conditions,  upon  which 
alone,  they  were  authorised  to  take  definitive  mea- 
sures, in  respect  to  either  of  the  proposed  harbours  ; 
and  in  the  belief  that  it  was  their  duty  to  obtain  the 
benefit  of  actual  experiment,  as  far  as  was  practica- 
ble, in  relation  to  several  essential  points,  on  which 
their  engineers,  and  other  intelligent  gentlemen,  had 


i    «  ) 

expressed  different  opinions.  One  effect  of  the 
course  adopted  by  the  meeting  at  Buffalo,  was  to 
postpone  the  ultimate  decision  of  the  harbour  ques- 
tion, for  one  year  ;  and  this,  it  was  thought,  would 
not  involve  any  public  injury,  because  the  harbour, 
at  either  place,  might,  notwithstanding  the  postpone- 
ment, be  completed  within  the  two  seasons  yet  re- 
required  to  complete  the  canal  through  the  Moun- 
tain Ridge.  In  the  mean  time,  the  citizens  of  Buffa- 
lo have  had  the  opportunity  of  completing  their 
works ;  and  the  people  of  Black  Rock,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  intimation  afforded  them,  by  the 
above  determination,  have  constructed  about  sixteen 
rods  of  pier,  in  the  rapid  waters  below  Bird  Island, 
for  the  purpose  of  testing  experimentally,  the  perma- 
nency of  a  mole  which,  on  their  plan  of  a  harbour, 
must  be  extended  from  Bird  Island  to  Squaw  Island. 

The  canal  line  from  Little  Buffalo  creek  to  the  up- 
per end  of  the  proposed  Black  Rock  harbour,  being 
nearly  two  miles  in.  extent,  has  been  placed  under 
contract,  and  the  execution  of  these  contracts  has 
advanced  with  reasonable  rapidity,  and  will  un- 
doubtedly be  completed  before  next  winter. 

In  the  course  of  the  last  season,  further  examina- 
tions have  been  made,  along  the  margin  of  the  Nia- 
gara river,  and  up  the  Tonnewanta  creek,  on  both 
sides,  from  its  mouth,  to  the  place  where  it  is  inter- 
sected by  the  canal,  for  the  pupose  of  understanding, 
as  well  as  possible,  all  the  facts  and  circumstances 
which  can  affect  the  location  and  construction  of  our 


(       6  ) 


works.  Ever  since  the  first  survey  caused  to  be 
made,  by  the  Canal  Commissioners,  of  the  country 
west  of  Genesee  river,  it  has  been  deemed  practica- 
ble, to  turn  the  head  waters  of  the  Tonnewanta 
creek,  from  a  point  above  the  falls  thereof,  northerly 
into  the  Oak  Orchard  creek.  Mature  reflection, 
and  a  further  knowledge  of  localities,  long  ago  con- 
vinced them,  that  some  important  advantages  would 
be  secured  by  effecting  this  object.  The  towing 
path  along  the  bank  of  the  Tonnewanta  creek,  es- 
pecially towards  its  mouth,  together  with  all  the 
other  artificial  works,  and  the  adjacent  lands,  would 
be  less  liable  to  damage  from  floods,  and  the  naviga- 
tion would  be  saved  from  the  inconvenience  of  having 
to  encounter  a  rapid  current,  during  the  continuance 
of  high  water.  But  the  most  material  advantage  con- 
nected with  this  operation,  would  result  from  its  ena- 
bling us,  to  pour  into  the  canal,  at  a  point  more  than 
twenty  miles  east  of  Lockport,  where  it  will  be  very 
much  wanted,  a  durable  feeder. 

The  Oak  Orchard  creek  is  the  principal  outlet  of 
the  Tonnewanta  swamp,  and  where  it  crosses  the 
canal  line,  it  is  sometimes  so  extremely  diminished, 
by  the  droughts  of  summer,  as  to  be,  for  any  pur- 
pose of  navigation,  hardly  worth  the  cost,  which 
would  be  necessary  to  carry  it  into  the  canal.  En- 
larged as  it  will  be,  by  introducing  into  its  channel 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Tonnewanta,  it  will  al- 
ways be  a  considerable  stream  ;  and  its  floods  may 
be  made  to  pass  down  its  rocky  bottom,  under  the 
eanal,  without  the  smallest  danger.    After  a  careful 


(       7  ) 


and  minute  survey,  the  most  suitable  route  for  open- 
ing a  channel,  for  the  Tonnewanta  to  pass  into  the 
Oak  Orchard  creek,  and  for  the  latter  to  flow  into 
the  canal,  was  determined  upon;  and  the  whole 
work  was  let  out,  to  competent  contractors,  to  be 
executed  within  the  present  year,  with  a  view  of  ac- 
complishing the  desirable  object  of  extending  the 
canal  navigation  as  far  west  as  Lockport,  in  the 
spring  of  1824.  It  is  believed,  that  this  feeder, 
taken  into  the  canal  nearly  central,  on  the  extensive 
level  between  the  Genesee  river  and  the  mountain 
ridge,  with  tfaeaid  of  the  Genesee  river,  will  afford, 
at  least,  a  partial  supply  of  water  for  the  whole 
season. 

In  the  month  of  December  last,  contracts  were 
executed  for  making  a  towing  path  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tonnewanta  creek,  and  for  building  a  dam  near 
its  mouth.  It  is  also  contemplated,  during  the  next 
season,  to  build  a  lock  near  the  dam,  to  enable  boats 
to  pass  into  the  Niagara  river.  If  this  work  is  finish- 
ed next  season,  boats  may  then  pass  down  the  Nia- 
gara river,  by  means  of  this  lock,  into  the  Tonne- 
wanta creek ;  and,  by  a  portage  of  seven  miles, 
across  the  mountain,  communicate  with  the  canal 
east  of  Lockport :  and  thus,  a  valuable  use  of  the 
waters,  both  east  and  west  of  the  mountain  ridge, 
will  be  insured  for  one  season,  before  the  immense 
labor  required  at  that  place  can  be  performed. 

About  ten  miles  of  the  canal  line,  on  the  margin 
of  the  Niagara  river,  remains  to  be  put  under  con- 


(       8  ) 


tract ;  and  it  is  intended  to  divide  this  into  suitable 
sections,  and  place  it  in  good  hands,  early  in  the  en- 
suing season. 

While  the  canal  commissioners  were  at  Buffalo, 
in  June,  many  representations  were  made  to  them, 
tending  to  shew  the  impossibility  of  carrying  on 
the  excavation  of  rock,  at  the  mountain  ridge,  for 
the  contract  prices.  The  rock  is  shelly,  and  more 
difficult  to  remove,  by  blasting  or  otherwise,  than 
was  anticipated.  And  it  was  perfectly  apparent 
that  the  work  at  that  place,  where  it  was  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  advance  it  with  all  possible 
celerity,  would  soon  fail  entirely,  if  a  new  course 
was  not  adopted.  In  this  state  of  things,  the  canal 
commissioners  determined  to  have  the  work  go  on 
with  energy.  The  men  who  had  taken  the  con- 
tracts for  rock,  were  regarded  as  men  of  business 
and  good  contractors,  and  it  was  agreed  to  continue 
them  upon  their  jobs ;  the  largest  of  these,  however, 
was  divided  into  three  parts,  two  of  which  were,  by 
agreement,  placed  into  new  hands.  The  work  was 
then  to  be  conducted  in  the  following  manner: — 
The  contractors  were  to  employ  as  many  hands  as 
the  commissioners  should  require ;  and  a  minute  ac- 
count was  to  be  kept,  by  an  assistant  engineer,  of  all 
the  expenses  necessarily  incurred  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work.  The  assistant  engineer  was  to  be 
constantly  on  the  contracts,  and  to  inspect  the  whole 
course  of  operations.  He  was  to  keep  an  account 
of  the  men  employed  every  day,  and  of  their  wages 
and  subsistence ;  of  the  powder  used  :  of  the  amount 


(       9  ) 


of  iron  and  steel  required,  and  the  blacksmiths* 
bills;  of  the  horses  and  oxen  employed,  and  their 
keeping;  of  all  the  tools,  utensils,  and  every  other 
thing  necessary  to  a  full  knowledge  of  the  actual 
expenditure  on  each  job;  and  the  contractors  were 
to  be  paid  reasonable  wages  for  their  services. 

Under  this  system,  the  work  has  been  conducted 
with  much  more  vigor  than  it  was  before.  And  the 
passage  through  the  mountain  ridge,  which  will 
doubtless  be  the  last  labor  to  be  done  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Erie  canal,  will  be  all  cut  and  completed 
before  the  end  of  the  year  1824. 

In  the  worst  two  miles  of  this  great  ridge,  origi- 
nally there  were  probably  about  260,000  cubic 
yards  of  rock  to  be  excavated,  of  which  55,226 
yards  were  taken  out  before  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber last,  and  about  97,400  yards  of  earth  have  been 
excavated  upon  the  same  two  miles.  At  the  western 
extremity  of  these  two  miles,  the  earth  above  the 
rock,  is  found  to  be  twelve  feet  in  depth,  and  the 
rock  dips  towards  the  south  west ;  it  is  therefore 
probable,  that  the  extent  of  rock  excavation  along 
the  bottom  of  the  canal,  will  be  considerably  less 
than  was  expected,  when  the  contracts  w  ere  taken. 
This  diminution  of  quantity,  will,  in  some  degree, 
counterbalance  the  unforeseen  cost  of  excavation 
per  yard,  which  has  varied,  since  the  account  of  ex- 
penditure has  been  kept,  as  above  mentioned,  from 
about  eighty  cents  to  more  than  double  that  sum, 
giving  an  average  not  far  from  nine  shillings  and  six 

2 


(      io  ) 


pence.  This  average  has  been  much  increased,  by 
including  the  excavation,  between  the  first  of  No- 
vember and  the  fifteenth  of  December  last,  when 
the  weather  was  extremely  bad,  and  the  expense  of 
excavation  was  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  greater  than 
it  had  been  in  the  preceding  months.  Since  the  fif- 
teenth of  December,  we  are  informed,  by  one  of  our 
engineers,  who  is  stationed  at  that  place,  the  work 
has  again  advanced  with  less  expense. 

The  excavation  of  rock  is  not  suspended  during 
the  utmost  severity  of  winter,  though  there  are  less 
hands  engaged  upon  it  now,  than  there  were  in  all 
the  warmer  months.  Perhaps  it  may  be  advisable 
in  the  spring,  after  all  the  experience  then  acquired, 
respecting  the  management  and  cost  of  this  con- 
cern, to  place  the  excavation  of  rock  again  upon 
the  ground  of  a  specified  price  per  cubic  yard. 
The  ridge  contracts,  west  of  the  rock,  though  of 
great  extent,  and  subject  to  many  embarrassments, 
have  advanced  so  as  to  sanction  the  belief  that  they 
will  be  finished  before  the  rock  contracts. 

From  the  mountain  ridge  to  the  Genesee  river, 
the  contracts  are  in  such  a  state  of  forwardness  as 
to  afford  assurance,  that  they  may  all  be  completed 
before  the  next  winter.  On  this  part  of  the  canal 
the  grubbing  and  clearing  are  mostly  done ;  so  are 
nearly  all  of  the  small  culverts,  of  which  there  are 
a  large  number.  There  are  also  a  few  large  cul- 
verts, which  have  their  foundations  laid,  and  such 
progress  has  been  made  in  the  superstructures,  as 


(   11  ) 


to  leave  no  doubt  that  they  may  be  completed  in 
two  months  after  the  opening  of  the  spring.  Some 
progress  is  also  made  on  most  of  these  jobs,  in  the 
excavation  and  embankment. 

Within  twenty  miles  of  Rochester,  west  of  the 
Genesee  river,  several  sections  are  already  accept- 
ed, and  all  of  them  will  be  ready  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  water,  before  the  first  of  July.  These  twen- 
ty miles  might  have  been  completed,  last  fall,  if  that 
had  been  necessary.  But  as  they  could  not  be  used, 
until  supplied  with  water,  from  the  Genesee  river, 
and,  as  it  was  desirable  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  laborers  to  be  hired  in  the  country,  should  be 
employed  at  Lockport,  and  in  its  vicinity,  it  was 
deemed  good  policy  to  keep  at  work,  upon  them,  a 
less  number  of  hands  than  would  otherwise  have 
been  required. 

The  greatest  mass  of  mason  work  contained  in 
any  one  structure,  on  either  of  the  canals,  will  be 
in  the  aqueduct  across  the  Genesee  river.  This 
work  was  to  have  been  completed,  by  the  first  of 
October  last,  according  to  agreement.  But  the 
agreement  could  not  be  performed,  partly  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  extent  of  the  work,  and  partly 
because  the  labor  of  quarrying  and  cutting  the 
stone,  was  much  greater  than  had  been  expected. 
Several  stone  quarries,  which  were  easily  accessi- 
ble, and  were  supposed  to  contain  stone  of  good 
quality,  were  necessarily  abandoned,  after  some  ex- 
pense of  time  and  money,  upon  them,  because  the 


I        12  ) 

stone,  when  exposed  to  the  air,  were  found  unlit  for 
use.  And  the  only  quarry  from  which  stone,  suita- 
ble for  a  great  portion  of  the  work,  could  be  ob- 
tained, was  covered,  to  the  depth  of  from  six  to 
fourteen  feet,  with  hard  earth.  Much  labor  was. 
therefore,  necessary  to  quarry  them,  and  when  quar- 
ried, they  were  so  hard  and  silicious,  as  to  make  it 
very  expensive  and  laborious  to  cut  them. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1821,  one  of  the  piers  of 
this  aqueduct  had  been  laid,  from  the  foundation, 
about  two  feet  high.  This  work  consisted  of  large 
stone,  in  courses  about  a  foot  thick ;  and  each  stone 
was  fastened  to  the  rock,  on  which  it  rested,  by  iron 
bolts,  passing  about  one  loot  into  the  rock  below, 
and  secured  by  fox-wedges.  These  stones  were 
afterwards  cramped  together.  The  next  spring,  no 
vestige  of  this  work  remained,  except  the  iron  bolts, 
in  the  bottom;  and  these  were  bent  down,  with  the 
course  of  the  stream,  so  as  to  present  the  least  pos- 
sible resistance  to  any  substance  put  into  motion, 
and  carried  down  with  the  current.  This  pier  was 
in  the  most  rapid  and  exposed  part  of  the  channel, 
and  possibly  would  have  proved  sufficient,  if  the 
work  had  been  carried  above  the  utmost  rise  of  the 
waters.  As  it  was,  it  served  to  impress  us  with  just- 
er  views  of  the  prodigious  violence  and  power  of 
the  stream,  in  time  of  floods.  And  this  impression 
we  have  constantly  carried  with  us,  in  our  subse- 
quent labors. 


At  the  place  from  which  our  work  had  been  re- 


(       13  ) 


moved,  instead  of  commencing  again  on  smooth  and 
level  rock,  as  had  been  the  case,  in  the  first  instance, 
we  excavated  an  oblong  square  into  the  bottom,  six 
niches  deep,  of  the  exact  size  required  for  the  pier, 
and  then  placed  a  course  of  very  large  stone,  which 
were  two  and  a  half  feet  thick.  These  stone  were 
secured  to  the  rock,  by  larger  bolts  than  had  been 
used  before,  and  they  were  strongly  connected  to- 
gether by  large  bars  of  iron  sunk  into  the  stone,  and 
extending  round  the  pier,  on  the  top  of  the  course, 
and  then  secured  to  each  stone,  by  several  bolts. 
In  addition  to  these  means  of  strength,  besides  fill- 
ing the  work  with  water  proof  grout,  each  end  of  the 
pier  had  a  bar  of  iron  crossing  it  diagonally,  and 
let  in,  and  bolted  like  those  before  mentioned :  so 
that  it  is  deemed  impossible  for  the  pier  to  be  re- 
moved, by  water,  in  pieces.  It  must  remain  sta- 
tionary, or  all  be  swept  away  at  once.  The  next 
courses  above,  consist  also  of  very  large  stone,  se- 
cured by  bars  and  bolts,  like  the  lower  course.  In 
this  manner,  all  the  piers  and  abutments  are  made  ; 
except  that  it  was  not  thought  necessary  to  sink  the 
foundations  of  those  which  are  less  exposed  to  the 
violence  of  the  stream,  six  inches  into  the  rock  at 
the  bottom.  The  piers  and  abutments  are  all  com- 
pleted, and  connected  together  by  nine  massive 
arches  of  excellent  masonry,  each  having  a  span  of 
fifty  feet.  The  whole  work  is  now  raised  to  the  top 
of  the  arches,  so  that  nothing  remains  to  be  done 
before  it  will  be  complete,  but  the  parapet  walls, 
lining,  and  coping:  And  the  stone  for  these  are  all 
quarried  and  cut,  and  many  of  them  delivered. 


(       14  ) 


The  manager  of  this  contract  assures  us  that  it  will 
be  ready  for  acceptance  within  two  months  after 
the  commencement  of  proper  weather  for  mason 
work. 

The  feeder  from  the  Genesee  river,  and  the  con- 
tracts remaining  unfinished,  the  year  before,  in  that 
vicinity,  having  all  been  inspected,  about  the  first  of 
July  last,  the  canal  was  filled  with  water,  from  Ro- 
chester to  Pittsford.  And  with  the  exception  of  a 
little  time,  when  the  water  was  taken  out  for  the  pur- 
poses of  repair,  that  portion  of  the  line  was  naviga- 
ble all  the  season  afterwards. 

The  great  embankment  at  Irondequot,  was  not  in 
a  condition  to  admit  the  water  so  early  as  had  been 
hoped.  When  it  was  raised  nearly  to  its  required 
height,  it  was  impossible  to  employ  as  many  teams 
and  hands  upon  it,  as  had  before  been  used.  And 
a  mass  of  fresh  earth,  raised  gradually  by  human 
labor,  to  an  elevation  of  more  than  seventy  feet,  will 
at  all  times,  settle  very  much,  as  you  approach  the 
top.  These  causes,  with  the  severe  illness  of  the 
contractor,  who  had  the  embankment  in  charge, 
disenabled  us  from  passing  the  water  through  it,  till 
the  14th  of  October  last. 

Much  solicitude  was  felt,  and  every  exertion  made 
to  complete  this  work  as  early  as  July ;  for  besides 
the  strong  motive  arising  from  the  desire  of  extend- 
ing the  navigation  to  Rochester,  it  was  expected  that 
there  would  be  a  deficiency  of  water  in  the  canal, 


(        15  ) 


from  Pittsford  to  the  Seneca  river,  in  the  dryest  part 
of  the  year,  if  aid  could  not  be  obtained  from  the 
Genesee  river,  and  carried  through  the  Irondequot 
embankment.  This  deficiency  was  experienced. 
The  last  season  was  the  dryest  ever  known  in  the 
county  of  Ontario.  And  when  the  drought  com- 
menced, it  was  perceived  that  the  great  embank- 
ment could  not  be  done  in  time  for  the  exigencies  of 
the  canal,  east  of  it.  A  feeder  was,  therefore,  con- 
structed from  Mud  creek  into  the  canal,  in  May. 
This  was  very  useful,  for  some  time,  but  as  the 
drought  increased,  it  rapidly  lessened,  till  in  July, 
the  quantity  of  water  which  it  afforded,  was  so 
smali,  and  so  little  aided  from  other  sources,  that 
navigation  was  no  longer  possible  between  Pittsford 
and  the  Seneca  river. 

After  the  waters  of  the  Genesee  river  were  per- 
mitted to  flow  through  the  great  embankment,  there 
was  at  once  an  active  navigation  on  the  canal,  from 
Rochester  to  the  Little  Falls  of  the  Mohawk,  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles. 
And  this  navigation  continued  without  interruption, 
till  some  time  in  December. 

Much  labor  had  been  expended  on  the  Cayuga 
marshes,  during  the  last  winter,  but  it  was  appa- 
rent, early  in  the  spring,  that  the  canal  through 
them  could  not  be  finished  under  the  most  favora- 
ble circumstances,  until  the  season  should  be  far 
advanced.  It  was,  therefore,  thought  advisable  to 
make  a  temporary  wooden  lock,  extending  from  the 


(    ™  ) 


canal,  in  the  town  of  Galen,  at  a  place  where  it  was 
located  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  boatable  wa- 
ters of  the  Seneca  river,  into  that  stream.  This 
Was  accordingly  done,  so  as  to  be  passable  in  May, 
from  which  time  toll  began  to  be  collected  on  the 
western  section  of  the  canal. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  canal  commissioners,  held  at 
Buffalo,  as  before  mentioned,  in  June,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  incompleteness  of  the  canal,  and  its  in- 
adequate supply  of  water,  it  was  resolved  that  no 
more  than  half  the  usual  rate  of  toll  should  be  de- 
manded west  of  Montezuma,  while  the  water  in  the 
canal  remained  less  than  two  and  a  half  feet  in 
depth.  Accordingly,  at  that  rate  the  toll  was  charg- 
ed. The  amount  of  toll  collected,  on  the  western 
section,  at  Lyons,  Palmyra,  and  Rochester,  notwith- 
standing all  the  circumstances  above  enumerated, 
was  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  dol- 
lars. The  same  portion  of  the  canal,  during  the 
next  season,  will  probably  produce  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  in  toll. 

The  completion  of  our  works,  through  the  Cayu- 
ga marshes,  has  been  attended  with  many  trouble- 
some and  unforeseen  contingencies.  We  had  early 
drought,  which  we  regarded  as  propitious.  Still 
the  labor  necessary  to  keep  out  the  water,  where 
the  line  runs,  several  miles,  through  a  porous  and 
soft  bog,  and  the  natural  surface  of  the  contiguous 
streams,  is  from  four  to  eight  feet  above  the  bottom 
of  the  canal,  has  been  very  great.    And  the  impe- 


(       "  ) 


diments  to  the  performance  of  this  labor,  have  been 
rendered  much  more  distressing  by  the  fact,  that 
when  the  waters  were  lowest,  and  of  course  most 
easily  excluded,  the  tear  of  sickness  has  been  the 
most  repulsive  and  insuperable.  The  excavation 
has  also  been  much  retarded  and  burthened  by 
large  quantities  of  quicksand,  in  situations  where 
this  material,  at  all  places  requiring  much  labor  and 
expense  to  control,  assumed  its  most  unmanageable 
character.  By  great  and  persevering  exertions,  the 
excavation  was  so  far  completed,  through  this  sec- 
tion of  the  canal,  as  to  allow  of  the  passage  of  a 
boat,  the  thirtieth  day  of  July  last,  since  which  time 
it  has  been  constantly  open. 

The  water  in  the  Seneca  river,  was  reduced  dur- 
ing the  last  autumn,  more  than  a  foot  lower  than  it 
has  been  known  to  be  in  many  years.  And  as,  in 
places  where  the  quicksand  occurs,  no  exertions 
could  entirely  prevent  it  from  rising  in  the  bottom 
of  the  canal,  some  inconvenience  was  felt  in  the 
passage  of  heavy  loaded  boats,  during  the  low  wa- 
ter. This  inconvenience  was  wholly  removed,  by 
a  small  rise  of  the  stream,  in  consequence  of  the 
fall  rains.  And  if  it  shall  again  present  itself,  it 
may  be  forever  obviated,  without  any  great  expense, 
by  the  construction  of  a  lock  with  a  small  lift,  so 
located  as  to  keep  the  waters  over  the  quicksand 
from  settling  below  the  required  height. 

The  middle  section  of  the  Erie  canal  has  been 

navigable  from  April  to  December;  as  was  that  part 

3 


(       IB  ) 


of  the  eastern  section  which  extends  Trom  Utica  to 
the  Little  Falls,  with  the  exception  of  some  inter- 
ruptions, occasioned,  chiefly,  by  a  want  of  water, 
on  the  lower  levels.  There  is  a  connexion,  by 
means  of  a  lock,  from  the  new  canal  to  the  old  one. 
and  Mohawk  river,  at  the  German  Flats.  And  for 
the  purpose  of  using  that  connexion,  the  water  was. 
for  some  time,  passed  down  into  the  Mohawk,  as 
well  as  through  all  the  levels  of  the  new  canal. 
When  experience  demonstrated,  that  the  quantity  of 
water  introduced  from  above,  was  insufficient  to 
supply  both  routes,  with  navigation,  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  confine  it  entirely  to  the  new,  which 
was  afterwards  adequately  supplied. 

It  is  a  most  gratifying  circumstance,  in  relation  to 
our  great  scheme  of  internal  improvement,  that  af- 
ter the  lapse  of  two  or  three  years,  the  banks  of  the 
canal  become  so  well  compacted,  by  the  natural 
operations  of  time,  and  by  use,  that  little  expense  of 
reparation  is  required.  There  has  been  no  breach 
on  the  middle  section,  of  any  considerable  impor- 
tance, since  our  last  annual  report;  and  no  boat  has 
been  stopped  upon  it,  for  a  single  day,  in  conse- 
quence of  disorder  in  the  works.  The  expense  of 
superintending  it,  has,  therefore,  been  small ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  amount  of  revenue  derived 
from  it,  has  exceeded  our  expectations. 

The  following  account  of  articles  which  have 
passed  the  collector's  office,  at  Rome,  includes  about 
three  fourths  of  the  tonnage  on  the  middle  section, 
during  the  last  season,  to  wit : 


(       19  ) 


Articles  passing  on  the  Erie  Canal  at  Rome,  in  1 822, 
that  are  not  enumerated  in  the  books,  or  stated  in  de- 
tail in  the  monthly  returns. 


4552  boxes  glass, 

79 

13 

2 

16 

lard, 

47 

18 

0 

2 

Butter, 

91 

14 

3 

13 

Hams, 

30 

3 

2 

27 

Cheese, 

10 

19 

1 

23 

Corn  &r  other  coarse  grain, 

288 

15 

0 

27 

Apples, 

7 

12 

2 

0 

Flax  and  hemp, 

4 

2 

0 

3 

Flax  seed, 

46 

6 

2 

8 

Household  goods, 

184 

4 

3 

22 

Grass  seed, 

1 

19 

1 

0 

.Beeswax, 

1 

0 

3 

4 

94  Wagons  and  carriages, 

19 

14 

2 

0 

Cla^, 

42 

10 

0 

15 

Books, 

1 

10 

1 

20 

2  Boxes  patent  wheel  heads, 

0 

3 

2 

0 

Horns  and  horn  tips, 

2 

5 

2 

9 

1  box  types, 

0 

2 

2 

0 

Window  sash, 

2 

6 

0 

0 

Soap, 

49 

18 

3 

8 

1  bbl.  leaf  tobacco, 

0 

I 

0 

0 

Furs  and  peltry, 

4 

19 

0 

4 

Hops, 

7 

12| 

3 

25 

Wool, 

10 

14| 

2 

7 

2  Copper  kettles, 

0 

9 

0 

0 

Brick, 

116 

15 

0 

21 

263  bbls.  ale  and  beer, 

34 

12 

2 

0 

103  Ploughs, 

5 

3 

2 

0 

Gin, 

13 

9 

2 

0 

Honey, 
190  bbls.  cider, 

0 

4 

3 

0 

23 

16 

0 

0 

Peaches, 

27 

1 

8 

2 

4 

1 

Carried  forward. 


(       20  ) 


Brought  forward,  I 

1 

r  Gathers, 

0 

18 

0 

1 

Crackers, 

0 

15 

0 

0 

Vinegar, 

Cast  iron  scraps, 

1 

7 

2 

0 

4l1 

10| 

0 

20 

rotatoes, 

0 

10I 

0 

0 

Lead, 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Hay, 

2 

0 

0 

0 

Stone, 

144 

11 

3 

4 

35  bbls.  kelp, 

15 

1 

3 

22 

Empty  casks, 

7 

1 

2 

0 

Meal  and  shorts, 

1  no 
1UJ 

ID 

2 

0 

Sand, 

12 

7 

0 

0 

Iron  ore, 
Ginseng, 

OO 

<J 

U 

u 

0 

8 

2 

0 

"W  ooden  ware, 

0 

16 

3 

16 

Rags, 

3 

19 

2 

16 

Mechanics  tools, 

u 

9 

0 

0 

3  church  bells, 

0 

18 

2 

12 

1  bbl.  blood, 

0 

2 

2 

0 

1  do.  pickles, 

u 

U 

Paper, 

0 

12 

2 

27 

Nuts, 

0 

5 

2 

0 

Castings  for  machinery, 

10 

18 

1 

* -- 
17 

1  turner's  lathe, 

0 

1 

0 

0 

Gun  stocks, 

X 

n 
U 

u 

«J 

[-2  barrel  currant  wine, 

U 

1 

l 

U 

50  bundles  scale  boards. 

0 

5 

0 

0 

Maple  sugar, 

U 

n 
U 

U 

Flags, 

0 

3 

() 

0 

Can  skins, 

u 

A 

4 

U 

u 

U.  S.  gun  carriages, 

Cotton  and  woollen  machinery, 

] 

3 

2 

0 

1 

3 

0 

0 

1  keg  cherry  juice, 

0 

• 
1 

U 

u 

30  water  melons, 

0 

3 

2 

20 

Quinces, 
Crab  apples, 
2  boxes  whips, 

0 

6 

C 

1  0 

U 

o 

c 

0 

0 

2 

0 

Carried  forward. 

I 

1 1 

(       21  ) 


58 
2 
4 


2 
17 


Brought  forward, 
Oysters  and  clams, 
bis.  cider  brandy, 
do.  peach  do. 
do.  apple  sauce, 
Mustard  seed, 
Tallow, 

Sacks  deers  hair, 
Wheel  barrows, 


Tons, 

958  C.  staves  and  heading. 
1,661  M.  shingles, 
26  C.  hoop  poles, 
1,435,225  ft.  boards  and  scantling, 
11 1,62*  ft.  timber, 
37,676  posts  and  rails, 
25  cords  bark, 
532  do.  wood. 


2 

17 

0 

0 

7 

5 

0 

0 

0 

5 

o 

o 

0 

10 

Oi  0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

19 

0 

14 

0 

1 

2 

0 

0 

4 

1 

0 

1615 

17 

0 

7 

Total  amount  of  articles  passing  on  the  canal  at  Rome,  in 
the  year  1822,  on  which  toll  is  charged  by  the  ton. 

184,522  bbls.  flour, 
17,666  do.  salt, 
9,495  do.  provisions, 
4,872  do.  pot  and  pearl  ashes, 
366  do.  oil, 
98,174  bushels  wheat, 
46,822    do.    water  lime. 
194,398  gallons  whiskey, 
Gypsum, 
Merchandise, 


Amount  of  weight  of  sundries 
brought  down, 


18452 

4 

0 

0 

2523 

6 

0 

0 

1356 

9 

0 

0 

1218 

0 

0 

0 

45 

15 

0 

0 

26291 1 3 

0 

24 

1560;i5 

0 

0 

648 

0 

0 

0 

775 

0 

0 

0 

4619 

19 

0 

14 

33829 

1 

1 

10 

1615 

17 

0 

7 

35444 

18 

1 

17 

B.  B,  HYDE,  Collector, 


<       22  ) 


On  the  articles  included  in  the  foregoing  state- 
ment, on  boats,  and  all  other  articles,  passing  be- 
tween the  Little  Falls  and  Montezuma,  there  has 
been  collected  in  tolls,  during  the  past  year,  the  sum 
of  $57,160  89 

To  which  if  we  add  amount  collected 
on  western  section,  3,286 

And  on  Champlain  canal  3,625  44 

It  makes,  in  the  aggregate,  g 64,072  33 

An  amount  which  will  be  seen  to  be  above  fifty  per 
cent,  greater  than  we  ventured  to  estimate  it  in  our 
last  annual  report.  Should  the  amount  of  tolls  in- 
crease the  present  year,  in  proportion  to  the  increas- 
ed extent  of  the  navigation  on  the  canals,  which  we 
are  inclined  to  think  it  will,  we  may  set  down  the 
amount  at  a  sum  exceeding  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

The  expenses  of  the  middle  section,  during  the 
the  last  season,  embracing  collectors',  superintend- 
ants',  and  lock  keepers'  wages,  and  all  repairs, 
have  not  exceeded  eight  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  Oriskany  creek,  where  it  intersects  the 
line  of  the  canal,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  navigation, 
we  have  found  it  expedient  to  change  the  route  of 
the  canal,  by  passing  it  over  the  creek  below  the 
dam,  by  means  of  an  aqueduct.  This  disconnects 
the  canal  from  the  creek,  and  the  mills  and  manufac- 
tories around  it,  which  were  enabled  to  draw  to 
their  use,  the  waters  of  the  canal,  whenever  the 


(       23  ) 


creek  failed  to  give  them  a  full  supply.  The  value 
of  the  water  to  these  works, — the  difficulty  of  ascer- 
taining with  certainty  what  they  were  justly  entitled 
to, — and  the  strong  inducements  of  private  interest, 
to  take  the  greatest  quantity  which  could  be  justifi- 
ed under  colour  of  right,  threatened  such  serious  in- 
terference with  the  navigation  of  the  canal,  as  to  ren- 
der it  advisable  to  make  the  abovementioned  alte- 
ration. The  work  is  nearly  accomplished,  and  will 
cost  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Under  the  authority  given  to  the  canal  commis* 
sioners,  by  the  legislature,  at  their  last  session,  they 
have  proceeded  to  connect  the  Salina  side  cut  with 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Onondaga  Lake,  and  al- 
so to  lower  the  said  lake  to  the  level  of  Seneca 
river.  >  This  last  work  has  been  completed;  the 
former  outlet  has  been  deepened  and  enlarged,  and 
a  new  cut  giving  a  depth  of  water,  at  all  times,  of  not 
less  than  three  feet,  has  been  excavated,  from  the 
lake  to  the  river.  This  has  rendered  the  navigation 
perfectly  easy  and  convenient,  to  and  from  the  river, 
lowered  the  level  of  the  lake  nearly  two  feet,  and 
greatly  facilitated  the  operations  going  on  under  the 
authority  of  the  state,  in  ditching  and  draining  the 
Salina  marshes. 

The  excavation  for  the  extension  of  the  side  cut 
is  now  in  progress.  The  materials  for  the  locks  will 
be  delivered,  and  in  readiness  for  use,  before  the  close 
of  winter,  and  by  the  first  of  August  ne\t,  it  is  ex- 
pected that  the  whole  work  will  be  finished. 


(       24  ) 


In  reference  to  the  Eastern  Section. 
The  operations  on  this  section  have  embraced 
the  whole  of  the  unfinished  part  of  the  line,  extend- 
ing from  the  Little  Falls  to  Albany,  a  distance  of 
eighty-six  miles. 

The  importance  of  opening  the  navigation  as 
speedily  as  possible  throughout  this  portion  of  the 
Canal,  and  connecting  it  with  the  navigable  waters  of 
the  Hudson,  not  only  on  account  of  the  accommo- 
dation which  it  would  afford  our  western  citizens, 
in  removing  the  great  obstacle  to  the  transportation 
of  their  products  to  market,  but  also,  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  income  from  the  tolls,  which  had  be- 
come necessary  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  on 
the  canal  debt,  was  so  obvious  and  pressing,  as  to 
induce  the  utmost  exertions  in  forwarding  the  com- 
pletion of  this  part  of  our  great  work. 

During  the  winter  every  necessary  preparation 
was  made,  and  the  first  favorable  weather  of  spring 
was  improved,  in  commencing  active  operations 
along  the  line  of  the  canal ;  and  although  consid- 
erable difficulty  was  experienced  in  procuring  the 
requisite  number  of  laborers,  from  four  to  seven 
thousand  have  been  constantly  employed  through- 
out the  season.  The  great  amount  of  work  which 
was  to  be  accomplished  at  DevendorPs  hill,  at  the 
Nose,  and  around  Yankee  hill,  and  which  had  exci- 
ted much  solicitude  during  the  summer  for  its  com- 
pletion, was  nearly  done  by  the  first  of  October ; 
and  by  the  middle  of  November  the  canal  was  so  far 


(       25  ) 


finished,  that  water  was  admitted  into  it,  sufficient 
to  navigate  light  boats,  from  the  Little  Falls  to  the 
flatts  of  Schenectady,  nearly  sixty  miles.  Through- 
out this  whole  extent,  the  levels  were  proved  to  be 
correct,  and  the  works  in  general  strong  and  sub- 
stantial.   It  was  not,  however,  to  be  expected,  that 
the  first  admission  of  water  into  such  an  extent  of 
new  canal,  would  be  unattended  with  some  failures ; 
indeed,  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  season,  the  short 
space  of  time  in  which  the  banks  were  formed,  with- 
out a  fall  of  rain  to  wet  and  settle  them,  assured  us 
that  leaks  and  breaches  were  unavoidable.  The 
greatest  part  of  those  which  occurred,  took  place 
on  the  line  between  the  Nose  and  Schenectady, 
On  this  part  of  the  canal  there  is  more  light  and  po- 
rous soil,  and  more  stone  work,  connected  with  em- 
bankments of  earth  that  are  liable  to  casualties  of 
this  sort,  than  on  any  other  part  of  the  canal  hither- 
to constructed. 

At  the  little  Nose,  a  breach  was  made  through 
the  bank,  and  the  wall  which  supported  it  on  the 
river  side,  for  some  yards  in  length,  was  carried 
away ;  the  water  also  broke  through  between  the 
earth  and  masonry  of  several  culverts  and  aque- 
ducts, and  in  one  instance  passed  through  an  em- 
bankment, around  the  head  of  a  lock,  doing  no  oth- 
er damage  however,  than  the  removal  of  a  few  yards 
of  earth,  and  the  displacing  of  three  or  four  plank 
in  the  chamber  of  the  lock. 

These  injuries,  which,  in  the  whole,  were  neither 

great  or  discouraging,  were  promptly  repaired,  and 

4 


(       26  ) 


the  water  retained  in  the  canal,  until  the  banks  were 
sufficiently  saturated  to  cause  them  to  settle  gradu- 
ally and  compactly. 

Some  damage  was  sustained  by  an  extraordinary 
fall  of  rain  on  the  last  of  November,  which,  at  the 
Little  Falls,  and  in  its  vicinity,  swelled  the  Mohawk 
to  an  unusual  height,  raised  the  waters  in  the  canal 
in  some  places  above  its  banks,  and  caused  several 
small  breaches :  these  have  been  mostly  repaired, 
and  the  whole  amount  of  injury  occasioned  by  this 
Hood,  may  be  estimated  at  the  sum  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  carry  a  feeder  from  the 
Paper-mill  creek  into  the  Schenectady  level.  This 
work,  together  with  that  of  lining  the  canal  in  sev- 
eral places,  will  occupy  some  time  in  the  spring; 
and  although  the  canal  will  be  navigable  as  far  east- 
ward as  the  Nose,  soon  after  the  disappearance  of 
the  ice,  it  is  not  expected  that  boats  will  be  able  to 
reach  Schenectady  before  the  first  of  June. 

A  feeder  from  the  Mohawk  has  been  constructed 
at  the  Little  Falls,  which,  embracing  a  part  of  the 
old  canal,  passes  over  the  river  by  an  aqueduct, 
and  connects  with  the  new  canal,  forming  a  navi- 
gable communication  between  the  two  canals,  and 
through  the  old  canal  with  the  river,  both  above 
and  below  the  Falls.  The  aqueduct  is  a  handsome 
structure  of  hewn  lime  stone,  consisting  of  three 
arches,  with  abutments  and  piers,  resting  on  a  foun- 


(       27  ) 


dation  of  solid  rock ;  the  centre  arch  of  seventy 
feet  chord,  spans  the  river ;  the  other  two  are  of  fif- 
ty feet  each;  under  these  the  water  never  flows,  ex- 
cepting in  floods ;  at  its  ordinary  height,  the  river 
passes  under  the  main  arch,  with  a  swift  current, 
twenty  feet  in  depth.  The  whole  work  supports 
two  parapet  walls,  four  feet  broad,  four  and  a  half 
feet  in  height,  and  measuring  each  two  hundred  and 
fourteen  feet  in  length,  and  having  a  water  way  be- 
tween them  of  sixteen  feet.  The  estimated  extra 
expense  of  constructing  the  feeder  from  the  north, 
instead  of  the  south  side  of  the  river,  was  defrayed 
by  individual  contribution.  This  consideration, 
together  with  that  of  accommodating  a  large  popu- 
lation by  an  easy  and  convenient  access  to  the  canal, 
decided  the  conduct  of  the  canal  commissioners  in 
regard  to  the  plan  and  location  of  this  work. 

The  dam  at  the  Schoharie  creek  was  completed 
in  September.  It  is  a  work  of  considerable  magni- 
tude, measuring  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  across  a 
stream,  which  at  times  sweeps  away  almost  every 
opposing  obstacle.  This  is,  how  ever,  a  substantial 
work,  founded  on  piles,  and  made  solid  with  timber 
and  stone ;  and  as  it  has  an  elevation  of  only  eight 
feet,  it  is  believed  to  be  capable  of  resisting  the 
force  of  the  greatest  floods. 

The  line  of  the  canal  passes  the  creek  a  few  rods 
above  the  dam;  and  while  the  water  is  raised  to  a 
height  sufficient  for  the  passage  of  boats,  it  flows 
through  the  guard  lock  on  the  east  side,  and  gives  to 


(       28  ) 


the  canal  in  that  direction,  an  ample  supply.  Boats 
and  horses,  by  means  of  ropes,  windlasses,  and 
scows,  will  be  taken  across  the  creek  with  safety  and 
expedition. 

Between  the  Little  Falls  and  Schenectady,  are 
the  following  structures,  the  principal  part  of  which 
were  completed  during  the  last  year,  to  wit : 

Thirteen  locks,  built  of  lime  stone,  handsomely  cut. 
and  laid  and  grouted  with  water  cement : 

Eleven  guard  locks,  built  partly  of  hewn,  and  partly 
of  well  shapen  rough  stone,  and  laid  in  water  ce- 
ment : 

Sixty  culverts,  of  various  sizes,  of  lime  stone  mason- 
ry: 

Thirteen  aqueducts,  with  piers  and  abutments  of  stone 
masonry,  trunks  of  wood  : 

One  hundred  and  five  road  and  farm  bridges — some  of 
them  with  abutments  of  stone,  but  the  principal 
part  are  built  of  timber  and  plank  : 

Six  dams,  of  timber,  filled  in  with  stone,  wings  of 
stone  masonry. 

Beside  the  stone  in  the  above  works,  there  are 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  cubic  yards,  which 
have  been  used  in  sloping  walls,  to  protect  the 


(       29  ) 


bank  along  the  margin  of  the  river,  and  in  other 
places,  where  this  kind  of  protection  was  deemed 
necessary. 

Between  Schenectady  and  Albany  the  work  has 
been  successfully  prosecuted :  five  of  the  locks 
have  been  completed,  most  of  the  lock  pits  have 
been  excavated,  and  the  materials  for  the  remaining 
locks  are  nearly  all  collected,  and  transported  to 
the  places  where  they  are  to  be  used.  The  abut- 
ment and  piers  for  the  upper  aqueduct,  have  been 
carried  up  to  the  recess,  which  is  to  receive  the 
braces  for  the  wooden  trunk ;  and  the  lower  aque- 
duct is  in  such  a  state  of  forwardness,  that  it  is  be- 
lieved that  they  will  both  be  finished  the  ensuing 
season.  All  the  culverts  and  waste  weirs  are  under 
contract,. and  the  materials  for  their  construction 
will  be  collected  during  the  present  winter.  The 
excavation  and  embankment  on  this  part  of  the  line, 
are  in  such  progress,  that,  with  a  season  as  favorable 
as  the  last,  it  is  confidently  expected  that  boats  may 
pass  to  the  Hudson  in  November  next. 

In  relation  to  the  Champlain  Canal. 
The  works  on  the  Champlain  canal,  have  been 
successfully  prosecuted  during  the  past  season. — 
The  excavation  and  embankment,  together  with  the 
locks,  aqueducts,  and  culverts,  have  been  finished 
as  far  south  as  the  village  of  Waterford,  and  the 
water  admitted,  so  that  loaded  boats  have  passed 
through  the  whole  line  from  Lake  Champlain  to 
Waterford. 


(        30  ) 


The  excavation  south  of  the  village  of  Waterford, 
to  the  Mohawk,  is  very  considerably  advanced,  and 
the  darn  across  the  river  below  the  Cohoes  bridge, 
has  been  erected.  On  the  admission  of  the  water 
into  the  canal,  although  the  banks  were  new,  and 
had  not  settled  into  a  firm  and  compact  state,  yet  they 
did  not,  in  any  place  give  way. 

The  navigation  in  Wood  Creek,  had  been  found 
lo  be  imperfect,  in  consequence  of  the  rapidity  of  the 
current,  and  a  deficiency  in  the  depth  of  water,  for 
two  or  three  miles  below  Fort  Ann.  To  remedy 
this  inconvenience,  a  dam  and  wooden  lock  have 
been  constructed  in  the  creek,  which  are  found  to 
answer  a  very  valuable  purpose  :  indeed,  the  naviga- 
tion in  Wood  Creek  is  now  carried  on  with  as  much 
ease  and  convenience,  except  in  high  water,  as  it  is 
in  the  canal. 

By  a  reference  to  the  last  annual  report,  it  will 
be  seen  that  five  engineers  were  sent  by  the  board, 
to  the  summit  level  of  the  Champlain  canal,  during 
the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain the  best  mode  of  supplying  it  with  water. 

They  reported,  that  it  would  be  more  advisable 
to  take  the  water  from  the  Hudson,  from  above 
Glen's  Falls,  by  a  new  feeder,  than  to  repair  the 
great  dam  at  Fort  Edward,  which  had  been  injured 
by  the  freshet  of  the  12th  of  November,  1821.  The 
board  concurred  in  this  opinion,  and  Mr.  Canvass 
WThite  was  sent  early  in  the  spring,  to  lay  out  the 


(       31  ) 


new  feeder.  It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that 
the  engineers  who  had  examined  the  track  of  the 
feeder  while  there  was  a  foot  or  more  of  snow  upon 
the  ground,  had  been  very  much  deceived  in  the 
character  of  the  excavation,  the  expense  of  the  work, 
and  the  time  necessary  for  its  accomplishment.  It 
was  found  that  the  feeder  must  pass  for  more  than 
a  mile  in  length,  through  a  rock  of  secondary  lime- 
stone, filled  with  chasms  and  fisures,  which  would 
require  considerable  time  and  expense  to  make  suffi- 
ciently tight  to  hold  water,  and  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  remainder  of  the  line,  must  be  located 
upon  the  margin  of  a  declivity,  composed  of  loose 
and  porous  sand,  a  portion  of  which  would  probably 
require  lining,  to  make  it  secure.  It  was  perceived 
that  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered,  would  render 
it  utterly  impracticable  to  supply  the  canal  with  wa- 
ter through  the  new  feeder,  in  one  season. 

These  considerations,  joined  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  fact,  that  vast  quantities  of  lumber  had  accu- 
mulated between  White-Hall  and  Fort  Ann,  which 
without  a  supply  of  water,  would  be  prevented  for  a 
year  from  going  to  market,  to  the  great  injury,  if  not 
utter  ruin,  of  many  of  the  owners,  induced  the  ca- 
nal commissioners  while  at  Buffalo,  to  pass  a  resolu- 
tion, authorising  the  great  dam  at  Fort  Edward  to 
be  repaired.  The  work  was  commenced,  prosecut- 
ed, and  finished  with  all  possible  expedition ;  so 
that  by  the  first  day  of  September  the  water  was 
running  over  the  whole  length  of  this  stupendous 
structure,  affording  a  continuous  sheet  of  more  than 
nine  hundred  feet  in  extent :  And  from  that  time  till 


C       32  ) 


the  navigation  was  interrupted  by  frost,  the  canal 
was  furnished  with  a  superabundant  supply. 

Although  considerable  injury  was  sustained  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  country  by  the  uncommon  vio- 
lence of  the  autumnal  floods,  yet  this  work  did  not 
receive  the  least  damage  ;  and  so  many  precautions 
have  been  taken  to  render  it  strong  and  permanent, 
that  it  is  believed  that  the  probability  of  its  standing 
is  as  great  as  that  of  any  dam  on  so  large  and  im- 
petuous a  stream  as  the  Hudson. 

The  toll  collected  during  the  short  time  that  the 
navigation  was  open  amounted  to  $3,625  44.  The 
following  are  the  chief  articles  on  which  this  sum 
was  received,  to  wit:  444,058  feet  of  round  and 
square  timber,  15,047,681  feet  of  sawed  lumber, 
854,000  shingles,  20,000  staves,  8,000  hoop  poles,  82 
tons  of  merchandize,  8  tons  of  meal,  33  tons  of  mar- 
ble, 30  barrels  of  whiskey,  1,800  cwt.  of  paint. 

The  works  in  the  Hudson  river  between  Troy  and 
Waterford,  consisting  of  a  dam  and  sloop  lock,  are 
not  completed.  The  masonry  of  the  lock  is  finish- 
ed ;  but  while  the  contractors  were  closing  a  space 
in  the  dam  which  had  been  left  open  to  discharge 
the  water  of  the  river  while  the  other  works  were  in 
progress,  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  created  a  sudden  and 
considerable  rise  in  the  river,  which  undermined  and 
swept  away  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  of 
the  unfinished  w  ork,  and  the  river  was  afterwards  so 
much  swelled  by  repeated  rains,  and  the  season  so 


(       33  ) 


lar  advanced,  that  it  was  found  impracticable  to 
complete  it.  After  the  spring  floods  subside,the  work 
may  be  finished  in  two  months,  provided  it  is  not  in- 
terupted  by  freshets,  and  provided  the  breaking  up 
of  the  river  shall  do  no  further  injury  to  it.  The 
construction  of  dams  across  so  large  a  stream  as  the 
Hudson,  is  always  subject  to  casualties  ;  because  it 
requires  several  months  to  complete  so  considerable 
a  structure,  and  any  intervening  flood,  will  in  general 
materially  injure,  or  entirely  destroy  such  parts  of 
the  work  as  are  unfinished  :  nor  can  human  skill  or 
prudence  effectually  guard  against  such  contingen- 
cies ;  for  no  period  can  be  selected,  from  the  com- 
mencement to  the  completion  of  such  a  work,  in 
which  some  of  the  parts  are  not  necessarily  incom- 
plete, and  consequently  exposed  to  injury  or  destruc- 
tion. 

These  works  have  already  cost  considerably  more 
than  it  was  originally  supposed  would  complete 
them ;  and  from  soundings  recently  taken,  it  is  as- 
certained, that  to  complete  the  dam,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  fill  up  a  channel  in  the  bed  of  the  river, 
which  has  been  excavated  by  the  floods  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  give  an  average  of  thirty-one  feet  depth 
of  water,  and  to  encounter  an  additional  expendi- 
ture of  from  g20,000  to  $30,000.  It  would  perhaps 
be  improper  at  this  time,  to  abandon  a  work  upon 
which  has  already  been  expended  about  $70,000; 
but  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  canal  commissioners,  that 
should  the  floods  of  next  spring  occasion  any  seri- 
ous additional  injury,  they  ought  to  suspend  any  fur 

5 


(        34  ) 


ther  expenditure,  until  they  receive  the  advice  and 
direction  of  the  succeeding  legislature. 

The  amount  of  canal  expenditure,  as  appears  from 
the  last  report  of  the  commissioners  of  the  canal 
fund,  is  now,  %  5,603,386  85.  And  there  will  be 
wanted  yet,  to  complete  both  of  the  canals,  about 
two  millions  of  dollars,  to  wit : 
To  complete  the  eastern  section  of  the 

Erie  canal,  and  the  Champlain  canal,     $ 600,000 
To  complete  the  western  section  of  the 
Erie  canal,  from  Rochester  to  the  moun- 
tain ridge,  400,000 
To  complete  the  canal  through  the  moun- 
tain ridge,  including  rock  and  earth  and 
locks,  750,000 
To  complete  the  canal  from  Tonnewanta 
creek  to  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  in- 
cluding the  feeder  from  the  Tonnewan- 
ta and  Oak  Orchard  creeks,  250,000 


in  all,  g2,000,000 

Of  this  sum,  about  one  and  a  half  million  of  dol- 
lars ought  to  be  expended,  during  the  ensuing  sea- 
son ;  as,  by  that  expenditure,  it  is  believed  the 
Champlain  canal  may  be  completed,  and  the  Erie 
canal  made  navigable  from  Albany  to  Lockport,  a 
distance  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles. 


( 


35 


) 


By  the  original  estimates,  the  expense  of 

the  Erie  canal,  was  calculated  to  be  $4,881,738 


The  difference  between  the  original  es- 
timates and  probable  expenditure,  is   $  1,850,648 

From  which  deduct  the  following  sums, 
not  included  in  the  estimates,  but  tak- 
en from  the  last  report  of  the  com- 
missioners of  the  canal  fund,  to  wit : 

For  interest,  $446,634 

Great  western  inland  lock  na- 
vigation company,  152,718 

Incidental  expenses  of  com- 
missioners of  canal  fund,  5,254 


In  all,  604,606 


Leaving  a  residue  of,  $1,246,042 
And  this  residue  may  be  accounted  for,  as  follows, 

1st.  There  was  a  mistake  in  our  original  estimate, 
as  to  the  length  of  the  canal  line,  between  the  Scho- 
harie creek  and  Albany,  of  eight  miles.  In  our  re- 
port of  March  18th,  1817,  which  contains  the  esti- 
mates, it  was  mentioned  that  we  had  not  been  able 
to  procure  a  level  and  survey  to  be  made,  from  the 
Schoharie  creek  to  the  Hudson.  And  the  estimate 
was  grounded  chiefly  upon  former  examinations  of 
that  part  of  the  line,  made  by  Mr.  Weston,  an  Eng- 


Champlain  canal, 


871,000 


Total  estimate  of  both  canals, 


$5,752,738 


(       36  ) 


lish  engineer.  We  set  down  the  distance  eight  miles 
shorter  than  it  was  found  to  be,  when  the  line  was 
located  and  accurately  measured.  Each  mile  of 
that  distance  was  estimated  at  fourteen  thousand 
dollars,  exclusive  of  bridges,  culverts,  engineers,  &c. 
With  these,  the  estimate  was  about  seventeen  thou- 
sand dollars  per  mile,  amounting,  in  eight  miles,  to 
g  136,000. 

2d.  There  was  also  a  mistake  of  seventeen  feet 
in  the  descent  of  the  line  from  Schoharie  creek  to 
Albany,  the  fall  being  that  number  of  feet  greater 
than  had  been  estimated.  The  lockage  for  each 
foot  rise,  was  estimated  at  $1,250,  which  for  seven- 
teen feet,  gives  g21,250. 

3d.  Damages  have  been  paid,  on  the  claims  oi 
individuals  along  the  line  of  both  canals,  to  the 
amount  of  about  g  100,000. 

4.  We  have  made  the  embankments  almost  uni- 
versally wider  than  our  original  calculation.  Thev 
wrere  estimated  to  give  thirty  feet  width  of  water,  al 
the  surface,  generally,  though  several  of  them,  to 
give  less.  They  are  mostly  made  so  as  to  give  fort} 
feet  width  at  the  top  water  line  ;  and  this  inc  rease  of 
width  has  cost,  say,  g  150,000. 

5th.  We  have  altered  the  character  of  our  works, 
at  several  places,  substituting,  in  many  instances, 
stone,  where  wood  had  been  estimated,  and,  in  other 
instances,  adopting  better,  but  more  expensive  plans. 


(       37  ) 


The  most  prominent  of  these  alterations  have  ap- 
plied to  various  places,  on  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk, 
where  many  more  stone  have  been  used  than  had 
been  included  in  the  estimates  ;  to  the  substitution 
of  stone  aqueducts,  at  Nine  Mile  Creek,  and  Ske- 
neaieles  creek,  on  the  middle  section,  where  cheap- 
er materials,  and  other  plans,  had  been  originally 
deemed  suitable ;  and  to  the  substitution  of  a  stone 
aqueduct,  with  several  necessary  accompaniments 
of  stone  work,  at  the  Genesee  river,  in  place  of  a 
dam  and  guard  locks,  originally  estimated  as  being 
sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  canal  across 
that  stream.  The  additional  expense  of  all  these 
works,  may  be  stated  at  8100,000. 

6th.  The  Champlain  canal  was  at  first  intended 
to  be  only  thirty  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  to  contain 
three  feet,  in  depth,  of  water.  It  has  however  been 
constructed  of  the  same  size  with  the  Erie  canal,  to 
wit — forty  feet  wide  at  the  top,  with  four  feet  depth 
of  water ;  and  this  increase  of  size  would  necessa- 
rily involve  an  additional  expense  of  at  least  one 
third,  which  amounts  to  $290,000 

7th.  Several  alterations  of  the  canal  line,  ha\< 
been  made,  by  which  it  has  been  shortened  in  the 
aggregate  more  than  seven  miles,  exclusive  of  the 
mistake  above  alluded  to.  Some  of  these  altera- 
tions have  been  less  expensive  than  the  original  line, 
bnt  several  oi  them  have  been  much  more  so,  parti- 
that  at  the  Mountain  Ridge.  At  that  place,  the  al- 
teration shortened  the  line  more  than  two  miles : 


(       38  ) 


but  it  was  calculated  that,  upon  the  new  line,  we 
should  have  to  encounter  near  a  mile  more  of  rock 
than  would  be  found  on  the  original  line.  This  alte- 
ration was  adopted,  on  account  of  the  great  saving 
in  distance,  and  because,  upon  the  rough  examina- 
tion, it  was  believed  to  be  nearly,  if  not  quite  im- 
possible, to  construct  the  canal,  and  secure  it,  on 
about  two  miles  of  the  old  line,  lying  east  of  the 
rock,  in  consequence  of  the  steep  side  hill  upon 
which  it  must  have  been  located,  and  the  nature  of 
the  materials  constituting  the  slope.  It  must  be 
confessed,  however,  that  the  expense  of  excavating 
the  rock  is  much  greater  than  we  expected.  This  un- 
foreseen expense  will  probably  amount  to  $200,000. 

8th.  Several  feeders  have  been  made,  and  must 
be  made,  which  were  not  at  the  beginning  thought 
necessary ;  particularly  those  from  the  Hudson  riv- 
er into  the  Champlain  canal,  and  that  from  the  Ton- 
ne wanta  creek,  through  the  Oak  Orchard,  into  the 
canal.  These  feeders,  when  perfectly  introduced, 
will  cost,  say  $  150,000. 

9th.  The  expense  of  collecting  tolls,  of  superin- 
tendence, and  of  all  repairs  on  those  parts  of  both 
canals  which  have  been  completed,  and  made  ready 
for  navigation,  is  included  in  the  difference  which 
we  are  here  accounting  for,  and  it  amounts  to  about 
850,000. 

10th.  The  canal  fund,  with  what  it  has  already 
paid,  and  must  pay,  for  opening  the  connexion  be- 


(       39  ) 


tvveen  the  Salina  side  cut  and  the  Onondaga  lake, 
will  be  subject  to  a  disbursement  of  about  $40,000, 
which  necessarily  makes  a  part  of  the  above  differ- 
ence. 

1 1th.  The  powers  of  certain  commissioners  to  im- 
prove the  navigation  of  the  Hudson  river  between 
Troy  and  Waterford,  were  transferred  to  the  canal 
commissioners  about  two  years  ago ;  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duties  required  by  that  transfer,  an  ex- 
pense has  been  incurred,  of  about  $70,000. 

The  above  causes  of  expenditure,  unforeseen  and 
not  estimated  in  our  original  report,  more  than  make 
up  the  difference  between  our  estimate  and  the  re- 
quired expenditure.  But,  in  addition  to  them,  there 
are  several  others,  of  less  importance,  which  have 
contributed  to  swell  our  disbursements.  One  of 
these  ought  here  to  be  stated,  because  it  has  had  al- 
ready, and  will  continue  to  have,  considerable  ef- 
fect ;  but  it  is  the  harbinger  of  so  much  good,  that 
it  must  be  regarded  with  the  greatest  complacency. 
We  refer  to  the  increased  price  of  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence, and  consequently  of  the  value  of  labor,  in 
the  western  parts  of  the  state,  produced  by  the  ca- 
nal itself.  It  is  believed,  that  giving  to  the  coun- 
try west  of  the  Seneca  river,  the  use  of  the  canal,  so 
far  as  it  has  already  been  completed,  for  transporta- 
tion, has  made  the  market  price  of  wheat  there,  fif- 
ty per  cent,  greater  than  it  would  have  been  without 
the  canal. 


(    *  ) 

Taking  into  consideration  all  the  circumstances 
attending  the  progress  of  the  canals,  and  viewing 
them  under  the  light  of  the  experience  already  ac- 
quired, the  commissioners  have  the  satisfaction  of 
declaring  that  their  most  favorable  anticipations  are 
confirmed,  in  relation  to  the  practicability  of  making 
the  canals,  and  of  securing  them,  and  in  relation  to 
their  vast  utility. 

SAMUEL  YOUNG, 
MYRON  HOLLEY, 
HENRY  SEYMOUR. 
WM.  C.  BOUCK, 
DEWITT  CLINTON, 
S.  VAN  RENSSELAER 

24  Feb.  1823. 


